Fort Lee, NJ
Police & Fire
Swimmer, 67, Confirmed Drowned In Long-Distance Event Between Tappan Zee, GWB Swimmer, 67, Confirmed Drowned In Long-Distance Event Between Tappan Zee, GWB
Swimmer, 67, Confirmed Drowned In Long-Distance Event Between Tappan Zee, GWB A 67-year-old long-distance swimmer who went missing Friday in the Hudson River drowned, authorities confirmed early Saturday. What initially had been a search became a "recovery effort," the Coast Guard said. The unidentified swimmer was participating in a 15.7-mile next-to-last leg of the “8 Bridges Hudson River Swim” -- which began at the Tappan Zee Bridge and was headed to the George Washington Bridge -- when a spotter saw him go under and not reappear near the foot of the "Little Red Lighthouse" at Fort Washington Park, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard joined the NYPD Habor …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Fort Lee, NJ
Police & Fire
'The Floor Moved Beneath Me': Helicopter Pilot Killed In Crash-Landing On Manhattan Building 'The Floor Moved Beneath Me': Helicopter Pilot Killed In Crash-Landing On Manhattan Building
'The Floor Moved Beneath Me': Helicopter Pilot Killed In Crash-Landing On Manhattan Building A helicopter pilot was killed while crash-landing on the roof of a building on 7th Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets in Manhattan Monday afternoon, authorities confirmed. Authorities initially launched a mass casualty response after the chopper apparently tried to make an emergency landing in the rain and fog atop the financial building near Times Square around 1:45 p.m. However, the NYPD later reported that only the pilot -- identified as Tim McCormack of Clinton Corners in Dutchess County, NY -- was the only victim. He was reported deceased at 2:30 p.m. McCormack, a retired fire chie…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Massapequa, NY
Police & Fire
Video: Trapped Woman, Six Others Rescued From Capsized Boat On Long Island Sound Video: Trapped Woman, Six Others Rescued From Capsized Boat On Long Island Sound
Video: Trapped Woman, Six Others Rescued From Capsized Boat On Long Island Sound First responders saved seven passengers who were in a boat that capsized on the Long Island, including one woman who was trapped under the vessel and tangled in fishing gear. Police released a video showing the daring rescue on Sunday, June 9, which shows the divers who were deployed from a helicopter and found a female victim in an air pocket under the boat. Video of the interaction can be found here. "Great job by #NYPD Aviation & #SCUBA rescuing a victim trapped under a capsized boat in the Long Island Sound," the NYPD posted on Twitter. "The divers deployed from the helicopter and …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Armonk, NY
Police & Fire
FDNY K9 Named For Fire Marshal From Westchester Who Died On 9/11 Named 'Top Dog' FDNY K9 Named For Fire Marshal From Westchester Who Died On 9/11 Named 'Top Dog'
Fdny K9 Named For Fire Marshal From Westchester Who Died On 9/11 Named 'Top Dog' An FDNY fire dog named for a former Fire Marshal from the Hudson Valley who made the “supreme sacrifice,” on Sept. 11, 2001, is making a name for himself. FDNY K9 Bucca - named after Tuckahoe resident Ronald P. Bucca, a 23-year veteran of the FDNY - and his handler, Fire Marshal Joseph DiGiacomo, were awarded the honor of Top Dog in the category of Accelerant Detection at last week’s United States Police Canine Association’s 2019 National Detector Dog Trials in Albany. Bucca serves as a member of the FDNY Bureau of Fire investigations, and was named after the former Tuckahoe resident w…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Massapequa, NY
News
Attempted Murder-Suicide Suspected In Death Of 3-Year-Old Girl Pulled From Burning Audi Attempted Murder-Suicide Suspected In Death Of 3-Year-Old Girl Pulled From Burning Audi
Attempted Murder-Suicide Suspected In Death Of 3-Year-Old Girl Pulled From Burning Audi A murder-suicide is suspected in the death of 3-year-old Zoey Pereira, who was found in a burning Audi sedan with chained doors, and gas cans.  According to WABC 7 sources, police believe the leading theory is that this was a murder-suicide by Zoey's father, identified as Martin Pereira, of Valley Stream. The horrifying incident took place around 9 p.m. Sunday, May 5, when New York City Police officers responded to a 911 call for a burning vehicle at 154th Street and Baisley Boulevard, said the New York City Police Detective Annette Shelton. Upon arrival, officers and FDNY personnel disco…

SHARE

by Kathy Reakes
Massapequa, NY
Police & Fire
Child Taken By Father In Valley Stream Dies Inside Burning Audi Sedan, Police Say Child Taken By Father In Valley Stream Dies Inside Burning Audi Sedan, Police Say
Child Taken By Father In Valley Stream Dies Inside Burning Audi Sedan, Police Say A 3-year-old girl is dead after being found inside a burning car hours after being taken by her father from a Valley Stream home. The child, Zoey Pereira, was located around 9 p.m. Sunday, May 5, when New York City Police officers responded to a 911 call for a burning vehicle at 154th Street and Baisley Boulevard, said the New York City Police Detective Annette Shelton. Upon arrival, officers and FDNY personnel discovered a 2008 Audi sedan on fire, Shelton said. Once the fire was extinguished, Zoey was removed from the vehicle and taken to Jamaica Hospital where she died from her injuries,…

SHARE

by Kathy Reakes
Massapequa, NY
Police & Fire
Ex-FDNY Dispatcher Pleads Guilty In Hit-Run Crashed That Killed 18-Year-Old Long Island Woman Ex-FDNY Dispatcher Pleads Guilty In Hit-Run Crashed That Killed 18-Year-Old Long Island Woman
Ex-fdny Dispatcher Pleads Guilty In Hit-Run Crashed That Killed 18-Year-Old Long Island Woman A former FDNY dispatcher from Long Island has admitted his role in the fatal hit-and-run that left a teenage college student dead following a hit-and-run on the Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown. Deer Park resident Daniel Coppolo, 33, pleaded guilty this week to manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with physical evidence after the crash that killed 18-year-old Taranjit Parmar of Levittown in November 2017. He also pleaded guilty to robbery in a separate incident when he used force to escape a security guard after shoplifting. Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Si…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Bergenfield, NJ
Police & Fire
SWAT Standoff: Negotiators Talk FDNY Retiree From New Milford Home Following Threat SWAT Standoff: Negotiators Talk FDNY Retiree From New Milford Home Following Threat
SWAT Standoff: Negotiators Talk Fdny Retiree From New Milford Home Following Threat Negotiators talked a retired New York City Fire Department paramedic out of his New Milford home after a SWAT standoff of a little over an hour and a half Wednesday. The 63-year-old tenant apparently made threatening remarks during an angry call to a fire department organization in New York after he had difficulty with a particular benefit, Detective Sgt. Kevin Van Saders. "He had threatened to bring an assault rifle to their building and open fire," Van Saders said. The reference to an AK-47 prompted the FDNY division to call local police, who also summoned a Bergen County Regional SWAT …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
White Plains, NY
Lifestyle
Woman Stuck In Upper East Side Townhouse Elevator -- For Entire Weekend Woman Stuck In Upper East Side Townhouse Elevator -- For Entire Weekend
Woman Stuck In Upper East Side Townhouse Elevator -- For Entire Weekend A woman who works for one of the top political money men in the country was stuck in the elevator to his townhouse for the entire weekend. The woman, identified by the New York Post as housekeeper Marites Fortaliza, 53, got stuck between the second and third floors on Friday, an FDNY spokesman said. She is reportedly employed by conservative political donor Warren Stephens at his 65th St. building. The woman was discovered around 10 a.m. Monday when the owners returned and called 911, the Post said. The fire department said they received the call around 10:10 a.m. Monday and rushed t…

SHARE

by Kathy Reakes
Mount Pleasant, NY
News
Metro-North Employees Hailed As Heroes For Helping Save Commuter’s Life Metro-North Employees Hailed As Heroes For Helping Save Commuter’s Life
Metro-North Employees Hailed As Heroes For Helping Save Commuter’s Life Some fast-fast-acting MTA employees helped save the life of a passenger who stopped breathing on a Metro-North train during the heart of the rush hour commute in the Hudson Valley. Nine Metro-North Railroad employees were celebrated for “seamlessly working together to save an unresponsive customer” on board a train heading from Grand Central to Wassaic. Shortly after 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20, as the doors was closing on the Dutchess County-bound train, a passenger called out for help when a fellow passenger was lying prone on the train floor, turning blue as he stopped breathing. Acc…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Mount Pleasant, NY
Police & Fire
NYC Firefighter Arrested In Connection With Fatal Route 9A Hit-Run NYC Firefighter Arrested In Connection With Fatal Route 9A Hit-Run
NYC Firefighter Arrested In Connection With Fatal Route 9A Hit-Run This story has been updated. Westchester County Police have charged a New York City firefighters from Buchanan in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident that occurred on Saturday in the village of Buchanan. Eric Werner, 44, an 18-year FDNY veteran who works in Queens, was arrested Sunday and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, a felony, said Kieran O'Leary, spokesman for the Westchester County Police. Werner is charged with fleeing in a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk that struck and killed Joseph Orichello, 63, of Buchanan, on Albany Post Road in the early…

SHARE

by Kathy Reakes
Fort Lee, NJ
Police & Fire
Fallen Beams Across From Javits Center Fall Dangle Over West Side Highway Fallen Beams Across From Javits Center Fall Dangle Over West Side Highway
Fallen Beams Across From Javits Center Fall Dangle Over West Side Highway Two beams being lifted by a crane at a construction site across from the Javits Center fell Tuesday morning, closing the West Side Highway for several blocks. No injuries were reported after the incident just before 10 a.m., which the FDNY said left the beams “leaning precariously” over 12th Avenue off 34th Street, the FDNY said. Police closed the West Side Highway between West 38th and West 42nd as a result, jamming area traffic.

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco